Let’s talk about courgettes. Or zucchini. Whatever you call them, it’s impossible to avoid their charms and abundance during the summer months. When we were in Italy a few weeks back our neighbour gifted us a bowl of freshly picked courgettes and their flowers which we respectively grilled, grated into a frittata with pecorino and softened in butter. Back in the UK we picked an enormous bag full from the local farm and while most made it into savoury dishes, I couldn’t resist saving a few for some sweeter baking experiments. 

Grated courgette has much the same effect as carrot in cakes, adding a beautiful moisture and texture to the crumb. All but the most delicate summer specimens are a little less sweet, so I’ve added a mixture of brown and caster sugar along with chocolate chips which puddle through each mouthful: molten when warm and firming up into satisfying shards once cool. The fats here are olive oil and yoghurt – for texture rather than flavour so the former should be mild, or substitute for vegetable oil if that’s all you have to hand.

With six weeks – give or take – until our new arrival hits the scene, I’m starting to fill up our freezer. And though the majority of space is intended for healthy suppers we can heat and eat with one hand, there’s will obviously be a dedicated section for sweet treats. I’m expecting visitors who will want cake with their coffee – and eagerly anticipating the ravenous appetite that accompanies breastfeeding – so supplies like these muffins are slowly stacking up. This recipe makes twelve chocolaty beauties, six of which we ate this week with the rest stashed away for a day when getting dressed, let alone turning on the oven, might seem a distinct impossibility.